Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Albo Wants Virginia Universities to Keep More Slots Open to Virginia Students.

The Washington Post ran a troubling article today about a student who was denied entry into the university of Virginia despite having a 4.01 GPA, being a Valedictorian, and a captain of his Lacrosse team. Philip Wears, a graduate of Fairfax county public schools, was stunned when he was rejected by Thomas Jefferson's University. The reason for the rejection? Well, perhaps money had something to do with it. It seems that our colleges and universities can charge more for out of state students. A 4.0 New Jersey student pays more in tuition than a 4.0 Fairfax student. And in tight times more money means a lot to Deans, Presidents and university bureaucrats.

After meeting Wears, Del. David Albo, (R-Springfield) decided to do something about the problem of qualified Virginia students being kept out of Virginia's top schools.

Delegate Albo and Several other House members want colleges and universities to limit out of state students in order to keep enough slots open to Virginia students. According to the Post the numbers of Virginia students at the four top-ranked schools: 67 percent at U-Va., 68 percent at William and Mary, 70 percent at James Madison University and 74 percent at Virginia Tech. Many would like to see the number at at least 80 percent.

The Post articled said

"Legislators introduced four bills during the 45-day session requiring schools to boost the number of in-state students to between 70 percent and 80 percent after hearing complaints from parents. All of the proposals were set aside, and lawmakers decided to consider changes during budget deliberations."

When asked if he would veto the legislation if it gets to his desk, Kaine hedged, "I never use the V word." We'll see what happens.

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About Me

I am one of those rare birds who grew up in Fairfax County. I went to George Mason University and majored in government and politics. I started my career in politics as a student volunteer with the Stan Parris for governor campaign in 1989. We didn’t win, but I fell in love with Virginia politics.
As a student at GMU I became active in politics. I was Chairman of the College Republicans, Co-Chairman of Students for Allen, member of the Fairfax County Republican party, and served as a legislative intern for Delegate Dave Albo.
After college I worked for Morton Blackwell at the Leadership Institute. At the Institute I helped train hundreds of conservative activists all across the country.
I also produced a weekly radio feature called 'My Virginia Political Minute' which was carried on the "Neo View" radio show in southwest Virginia. Currently I do lobbying and consulting work in Richmond.